ESP32-Based Edge Mesh: A Resilient Framework for Smart-City IoT

Abstract

As urban populations grow, smart cities increasingly depend on real-time environmental monitoring to enable sustainable development and efficient urban management. Conventional IoT systems often suffer from limited communication range, high power consumption, and unreliable data transmission. This paper presents a novel, scalable IoT architecture for smartcity monitoring that fully leverages ESP32 microcontrollers with integrated edge computing. The proposed design combines ESP-NOW, Wi-Fi, and MQTT protocols within a mesh-enabled framework, reducing latency and energy usage while enhancing resilience and coverage. Data is preprocessed at the edge before centralized aggregation on a Raspberry Pi backend, minimizing network overhead. Experimental results demonstrate that the architecture reliably communicates data, maintains precision, and exhibits strong resilience against node failures, including automatic gateway node replacement when disruptions occur. The design ensures robust fault tolerance and efficient operation, making it a practical and cost-effective solution for nextgeneration urban monitoring infrastructures.